CBP Facility to be Opened in Abu Dhabi

[fareview]

LH. ANA, JAL & AF etc do exactly what EK do by feeding US pax through their hubs to onwards connections. EK have repeatedly challenged airline leaders at industry events to show evidence of subsidies. We are audited by PWC. Not one CEO has been able to produce anything.

Many of the major US carriers are in alliances with airlines with low labor costs - not a problem when they are batting for your team (eg just one example Delta's partner Saudia in Skyteam).

EK will have 140 (currently 90ish) 777 on property in coming years - all bringing jobs to Americans - it's not all about you guys. The UAE is invaluable to US strategic interests.

Relax ALPA - it's a logical security move to set this up before the INADs get on the jet.

fv

 

[General Lee]

LH. ANA, JAL & AF etc do exactly what EK do by feeding US pax through their hubs to onwards connections. EK have repeatedly challenged airline leaders at industry events to show evidence of subsidies. We are audited by PWC. Not one CEO has been able to produce anything.

Many of the major US carriers are in alliances with airlines with low labor costs - not a problem when they are batting for your team (eg just one example Delta's partner Saudia in Skyteam).

EK will have 140 (currently 90ish) 777 on property in coming years - all bringing jobs to Americans - it's not all about you guys. The UAE is invaluable to US strategic interests.

Relax ALPA - it's a logical security move to set this up before the INADs get on the jet.

fv

Uhhhhh, not really. DL and Saudia have an alliance and really only "codeshare" on one or two flights from JFK to Jeddah and Riyadh. As far as subsidies go, EK gets a break on labor costs, gas in the ME, and cheap loans via the EX IM bank for 777s, designed actually to help POOR countries. Tell me again how any airline can afford to order 120 A380s and 140 777s? Ask PWC that. They'll probably shrug their shoulders and say "I see nothing!" (Sgt Shultz). That's like you buying the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai. Good luck with that. But hey, PWC said you could do it, without ANY help too.

As far as US strategic interests in the ME, would you like the US to leave? Iran might want that, and they are looking at you like a steak dinner. And Boeing does like your business, but so would Comac of China and Antonov of Russia. Those two companies really need more jobs. Go help them out too.


And Psssssssst, here is an article from Bloomberg saying you guys might order up to 275 new varient 777s. Hmmmmmmm, how do you guys pay for that? Isn't THAT SPECIAL....

Emirates Asks Boeing for 777 Successor Specs Before Making Order


By Andrea Rothman - Apr 17, 2013 7:56 AM MT Bloomberg

Emirates, the biggest operator of the Boeing 777, is pressing for more information about a successor aircraft before considering an order for the replacement of the U.S. manufacturer?s bestselling airliner.

"We're working closely to get to specifications we're happy with," Emirates President Tim Clark said in an interview in Paris today. "That means layouts, the seats, the galleys, getting the weights right, getting the fuel burn."

Clark has said he may need as many as 275 777s for replacement and expansion, a requirement so large his airline is likely to become the so-called launch customer of the successor plane. While Emirates is more advanced in talks with Boeing than other carriers, it doesn't expect to be ready to table an order at the Paris Air Show in June, Clark said.

Boeing's 777 is the centerpiece of the planemaker's wide-body strategy, a lucrative segment of the civil aviation market that's coming under fresh attack from Airbus SAS and its new A350, specifically the A350-1000 that's similar in size.

Emirates has ordered a total of 139 777 planes, which seat about 365 people and cost $315 million at list price in the most popular variant. Customers typically receive discounts




Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[General Lee]

Abu Dhabi preclearance plan enrages European airlines
Routes News, Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Written by Piers Evans

Abu Dhabi preclearance plan enrages European airlines

A deal signed this week by US and UAE authorities for a US customs outpost in the UAE has been blasted by the Association of European Airlines (AEA).

The planned facility at Abu Dhabi would allow travellers to clear US customs before boarding their flights, handing a pivotal commercial edge to Etihad over European carriers, according to the AEA.

While passengers from the UAE would skip customs procedures on arrival in the US, fliers with European airlines are now facing lengthening queues as the US ?sequester? kicks in, Geert Sciot of the AEA told Routes News.

"Passengers arriving in the States have to wait up to three hours at certain airports before they can pass migration," said Sciot, AEA?s general manager for communications.

"Due to the recent US budget cuts, the situation will get even worse."

The US ?sequester? follows a failed budget negotiation between President Obama and his Republican opponents that has triggered automatic cuts.

From Europe, only travellers on flights from Dublin and Shannon in Ireland can bypass US customs through preclearance before boarding, although other countries are seeking similar arrangements.

For Sciot, the agreement with Abu Dhabi tilts the playing field against European airlines.

"European airlines do their utmost to attract connecting passengers from all around the world," he told Routes News.

"The fair competition for these passengers was so far based on fares, schedules and airline service. Now it will also be based on preclearance."

Airlines for America (A4A) has also come down heavily against the proposed customs facility in Abu Dhabi, which the trade body describes as a ?pay-to-play? scheme that unfairly rewards investment by Abu Dhabi authorities.

"At a time when US carriers and airports are fighting to maintain our global competitiveness, the US government should not be signing a deal that benefits a foreign emirate and its wholly owned national carrier, particularly since no US carrier serves that emirate," said president and CEO Nicholas E Calio.

?Middle Eastern carriers and their governments make no secret about their aim to make locations like Abu Dhabi global hubs for commerce and tourism. Having the US government support that goal at the expense of US workers, airlines and our economy defies comprehension."

A ?Draw the Line Here? campaign is gathering online support to force a US government backtrack.

Geert called on US authorities to invest instead to cut the waiting times that are already forcing European carriers to adjust their schedules to avoid peak hours.

From Abu Dhabi, Etihad currently flies direct to New York?s John F Kennedy Airport (JFK), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Chicago?s O?Hare International Airport (ORD).



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Varmint]

Uhhhhh, not really. DL and Saudia have an alliance and really only "codeshare" on one or two flights from JFK to Jeddah and Riyadh. As far as subsidies go, EK gets a break on labor costs,

Air France...Lufthansa....All are government sponsored airlines. Air France is a big player in Delta's European connection structure and they consistently operate in the red.

By the way....when Delta comes to Dubai they get a break on labor costs as well. Do you think that they insist on paying the workers who handle their flights in Dubai double or triple the going rate because that is the right thing to do? No, of course they don't. They take advantage of the low cost of labor just as the other airlines who operate in and out of Dubai do and they would do the same thing in the ATL if they could get away with it.

 

[fareview]

EK to order 275 777Xs. see Bloomberg link.

This is great for American jobs and industry.

ALPA wont beat the Boeing machinists or the lobbyists for Americas largest exporter.

The US Open skies policy is designed to increase jobs and encourage vibrant competition for consumers. I would say at $315m a piece before discount - it has worked.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-0...ing-order.html

fv
Last edited by fareview; Today at 06:12.

 

[fareview]

Not a reputable airline FO in the M/east that gets paid what DAL lets their regionals pay there FOs.

Talk about worker exploitation - Comair, Mesa, ASA etc. all Deltas passengers. Our Cabin Crew get paid more than a starting Connection pilot.

Disgraceful.

fv

 

[flyboyike]

As far as US strategic interests in the ME, would you like the US to leave? Iran might want that, and they are looking at you like a steak dinner. And Boeing does like your business, but so would Comac of China and Antonov of Russia. Those two companies really need more jobs. Go help them out too.

Antonov is in the Ukraine, but carry on...

 

[Sparse]

Still don't think ME carriers are a threat?

I haven't kept up with ALPA and politics since ALPA put the screws to Delta retirees, but hasn't ALPA endorsed the Democrats in the past several election cycles?

I guess what goes around comes around Lee.

 

[Flyer1015]

How's that sand taste......whenever you pull your head out, let us know!!!

Eh, the SFO beaches are ok. I've had better in Hawaii and Fiji.

 

[General Lee]

I haven't kept up with ALPA and politics since ALPA put the screws to Delta retirees, but hasn't ALPA endorsed the Democrats in the past several election cycles?

I guess what goes around comes around Lee.

I think during the first election, but maybe not this last one. There is a certain Sec of Transportation that hasn't always been as favorable to this industry as others in the past.


Bye Bye---General Lee